What If?  The Afterlife
by RemusSiriusJames
Summary: Sirius has died and meets up with James in the afterlife. How can he convince James that he did not betray him? What's more, why is James obsessed with a portal to earth? First in the What If? series.
1. Welcome To The Afterlife

**Author's Note:** Hey all! I wrote a bunch of "What If's" with my friend Kay a LOOOONG time ago (try 2004... oye). Anyway, I felt as though they should be, well, resurrected, so to speak. This one was one of the first ones we did (I think) and it is pretty intense. This is an AU because we wrote it a year after OotP came out and a year before HBP was released, so, obviously this is not HBP compliment. It features a very pissed off Harry (courtesy of yours truly) and our favorite characters (who were pretty much split.) I've changed a lot from the original piece. Hope this turns out okay. -_Crosses fingers-_

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Peter would have been in Azkaban, not Sirius and James and Lily would never have died.

**What If: **

_James and Sirius visited the living world as Ghosts?_

_------------------------------------_

_SIRIUS! SIRIUS!_

_Harry's screams echoed in the blackness around him as he fell into a seemingly never-ending pit. Alone he fell, stiff as a board, gaining speed as he plummeted downward. As a chilling cold came over him, the man felt his body relax and flop lifelessly as he continued his journey downward, soon being joined by others - men, women and children alike- as they all fell for what seemed like an eternity..._

Crunch.

Sirius moaned as he felt his body hit the ground, hard. The crunching sound had been that of his arm breaking. "Damn," he gasped, slowly sitting up, ignoring the searing pain in his back, as well as his head. He swore loudly as his arm twitched from the pain jolting through his nerves. What the hell had happened? Ignoring the pain as best as he could, Sirius closed his eyes, grimacing, trying to remember what had happened. Where the hell was he? What had happened? Where was Harry?

Harry...

Images flashed before his eyes. The Department of Mysteries. Death Eaters. Harry's friends. The Order. Remus. Tonks. Kinglsey. Moody. Bellatrix. A duel. A flash of light. Harry.

Sirius' eyes snapped open as he gasped. Bellatrix had sent a curse at him - but what? He closed his eyes again, screwing up his face as he struggled to remember, but his memory was so cloudy that he couldn't remember the curse. He knew it had been something - _Reducto_, maybe? No, that couldn't have been it. Not unless something had blown up behind him and knocked him out, or the curse itself had hit him. But, Sirius opened his eyes with a laugh, that was impossible. Reducto would have killed him. He didn't remember the light being green either, so it wasn't _Avada Kedavera, _was it? He stood up, and ran a hand through his hair with his right arm. His _broken_ arm.

Sirius froze. His arm _had_ been broken, hadn't it? Slowly, he extended his arm, staring at it in shock. It felt and looked as good as new, as though nothing had happened to it. No pain; no swelling; no redness. Come to think of it, his body didn't even hurt anymore. Someone brushed by him and Sirius realized, for the first time, that there were others around him as well. As he gazed around at all the people, all of whom looked as though they were perfectly normal, his eyes landed on a sign hanging above a long row of tables.

**Welcome to the Afterlife.**

"What the hell...?" Sirius whispered, slowly backing away from the sign as though he was afraid it would bite. Turning his back from it, Sirius gazed around that the swarm of people who were walking every which way as though in a very crowded Diagon Alley. This time, he really took in the way the people looked. Most people looked totally normal - Sirius assumed that these people were killed with the Killing Curse - whereas others were covered in blood, dripping water or even carrying heads. It wasn't until a man with an axe through his skull passed him that it hit him.

It couldn't be...

"I'm..." Sirius's voice died in his throat as the realization dawned on him.

He turned and stared at the sign again. "Welcome to the Afterlife..." he read in a shaky voice.

"Oh my God..."

_I'm dead._

He didn't know how long he stood there, shaking, emotions rising in his chest, wishing to be spilled. Harry. He left Harry...

"WAIT!"

A voice near him made him jump. Sirius broke from his stupor and glanced around at a man who was pushing through the crowd frantically_. Poor guy_... Sirius thought dazedly, _must be new here, like me._ Curious, and not knowing what else to do, Sirius followed the figure, whom, he realized, had dark hair.

"WAIT!" The man cried, rushing towards a desk, "Don't close it just yet!"

A woman at the desk sighed and pushed her glasses closer to her face as the man reached the desk.

"I am sorry sir, but you still do not have a friend from your life who is willing to accompany you to Earth."

"It shouldn't matter!" The man slapped his palm on the desk.

Sirius saw his back tense in anger and he frowned. What portal? What did the woman mean, 'accompany you to Earth?' Besides all that, why did the man look so familiar?

"I haven't seen my son since I died," the man hissed, "You have to let me through."

The woman sighed and shook her head. "Sir, I must ask you to leave before I banish you from the portal for eternity."

The man seemed to freeze for a moment, then he spun on his heel facing Sirius. It was then that Sirius caught sight of the dark-haired man's furious face.

"Oh my God..."

Sirius tensed as the man stormed his way, looking fierce in his anger.

_What do I do?_ Sirius bit his lip as the man continued towards him, absorbed in his own thoughts. _What do I say? _

Before Sirius could make up his mind, the man was level with him, then passed him.

"W-wait!"

Not even thinking about what he was doing, Sirius reached out and grasped the man's arm with both of his hands. The man stopped and turned, looking directly into Sirius' eyes. Sirius's mouth fell open as he stared into the eyes of the twenty-one year old James Potter.

"James," Sirius breathed, his hands slipping from his dead friend's arm.

James had not changed. He still had the same glasses, same face, same jet-black hair and the same bright eyes. He was still the same hight Sirius remembered him being and wore the same clothes, Sirius assumed with a heavy heart, which he had died in.

James' eyebrows knit together in a puzzled frown. "May I help you?"

Sirius bit his lip. He couldn't believe he was seeing -hearing his voice!- James again. "Y-you're dead..." he croaked.

His friend's eyes narrowed. "Thanks for noticing," James replied coldly, "now, if you'll excuse me-"

"James!" Sirius grabbed James' arm again as he turned away. "It's... James, its Padfoot," he whispered, suddenly feeling weak.

James stared at him for a moment as though he thought Sirius was insane. After a few moments, James' eyes met Sirius' again and Sirius saw his eyes widen. James gasped and stepped back. "Sirius?" he gaped.

"It... it's really you," Sirius whispered.

"Merlin's beard." James' eyes traveled up and down his friend, taking in the state of him. James hesitated, seeming to struggle with his words for a moment. "What in Merlin's name happened to you?" he managed at last.

Sirius couldn't help but grin in spite of himself. He had expected that, and yet...

"Azkaban," He replied, brushing himself off self-consciously.

James stared at Sirius in what looked like shock and horror. Then, suddenly, a new emotion emerged - something Sirius hadn't expected.

Anger.

"You bloody well deserved it," James snarled suddenly, clenching his fists.

Completely taken aback, Sirius' mouth fell open. "What-?" he was thrown to the ground as James' fist came in contact with his face.

"Too bad we can't feel physical pain, right Black?" James sneered as Sirius slowly stood, completely dumbstruck. "It shouldn't matter if I bash your head in then, right?"

"James!"

Of the two, James had always been leaner but Sirius had been stronger, and he was currently thankful for that as he held James by his shoulders at arm's length, completely bewildered.

"James - STOP!"

"You - Stupid - Son of a -" James struggled against Sirius' hands as he tried to get at his face.

"James, I -"

"You deserved it!" James spluttered in his anger, stepping back from Sirius, his chest heaving. "You deserved Azkaban after killing Lily and me! You betrayed up to Peter - you knew he'd-"

"I didn't know!" Sirius roared suddenly, desperate to make James listen. "None of us knew! I thought you'd be safe!"

"BUT WE DIED!"

Sirius closed his eyes, emotions rising inside him again. He had always thought that eternity wouldn't be too bad if James was there with him. If James was there to forgive him, it wouldn't be so bad.

Sirius inhaled deeply through his nostrils and opened his eyes. To his great surprise, there were tears in his friend's eyes.

James never cried.

Sirius hesitated, not sure whether he should try to comfort him or not, but then he realized that there were tears leaking down his own cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Sirius whispered.

James opened his mouth fiercely and Sirius braced himself for the blow. It never came. James slowly closed his mouth and then his eyes, which made stray tears run down his cheeks. He ran a hand through his hair and placed the other on his hip. James opened his eyes and eyed Sirius for a moment.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

Sirius nodded, relieved James wasn't turning him away.

James shot him another angry look. "Come with me," he grumbled, turning his back and stalking away, Sirius following nervously behind. They walked for quite some time -or so it seemed to Sirius. At last they came across a familiar village. Sirius stopped, staring up at the cottage.

"James?" He asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Sirius," James snapped, opening the gate, "this is Godric's Hollow."

As they entered the yard, Sirius gazed around at it. The flowerbeds hadn't changed and the grass in the yard was as green as ever. The only thing that had changed was there were no more children's toys strewn all over the yard. Sirius assumed James and Lily had brought the toys inside the night they died.

"Lils?" James called as he and Sirius stepped over the threshold. Sirius took a moment to look around. He could see the living room hadn't changed. In fact, Sirius thought as his eyes roamed over what he could see of the house, the house hadn't changed at all.

"James?" An auburn haired-woman came from the kitchen, running a cloth over a frying pan. "Did you find out?"

James shook his head bitterly. "They wouldn't let me through."

Lily sighed. "James, just wait for someone to come."

"I can't Lily." James wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face into her hair.

Sirius felt his cheeks redden slightly as they always used to when his friends were alive. When James and Lily showed affection in front of him and their other friends he always got embarrassed.

_Looks like that stayed the same as well,_ he thought with a grim smile.

As the couple broke away, Lily looked around. "James?" she whispered, "Who is that?"

James glanced at Sirius then turned back to his wife. "Sirius Black."

Lily froze, taking in Sirius just as James had done. He glanced at James who crossed his arms and looked away.

"YOU PEICE OF -"

Lily had seized her frying pan and had started towards Sirius menacingly.

"Lily!"

To Sirius' surprise, James had grabbed his wife's arm.

"Lils, wait -"

"Let go James, I'm going to kill him!"

The corners of James' mouth twitched.

"Sweetie-"

"No, James!"

"Lily, leave it!"

"Leave it? _Leave it_?" Lily turned back to James, staring at him in shock.

"James, you _do_ realize who this is, don't you?"

"I -"

"HE SOLD US OUT!" Lily shouted, throwing Sirius a very nasty look. "SIRIUS TURNED US IN!"

"I did not!" Sirius snapped, rising to his own defense.

"Don't even think of lying, Sirius!" Lily shouted, wrenching her arm out of James' grip and turning to glare at Sirius. "We trusted you enough to make you our Secret-Keeper and you betrayed us! You gave us to Voldemort through Peter! You were supposed to be James' best friend! We trusted you!"

Tears started to fill Lily's eyes.

"WE _TRUSTED _YOU!"

James walked up to Lily and pulled her into him. Lily turned to him and sobbed into his chest. James looked up at Sirius, his jaw set. "You have some explaining to do, Sirius." He said coolly.

Sirius swallowed. "Shall we sit?" he asked weakly, gesturing towards the couch.

Eying him suspiciously, the Potters sat on the sofa while Sirius sat on an armchair. Lily set the frying pan aside and had begun to wipe her face on the sleeves of her shirt. Sirius looked down at the arm of the chair. This had once been his favorite armchair. It had been the most comfortable armchair in the house, had once belonged to James' parents and was the armchair he would sit in when he used to hold Harry.

Harry...

Sirius swallowed hard and looked up at his friends.

"So," James began slowly. "You ended up in Azkaban after we died."

It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Sirius said, ignoring the looks the couple were giving him. "I'm going to tell you my version of events as I know it, and please don't interrupt," he added pleadingly, "It will make it a lot easier."

When the couple didn't speak, Sirius took a deep breath and began his tale.


	2. Sirius' Tale

**Author's Note:** Ugggh... this chapter was really annoying. I typed everything here from memory and yes, I got a headache from it. I know this might get kind of boring, but it is necessary. Please stick with me on this one, better chapters are to come!

**Disclaimer:** Is this really necessary?

"It all began after you both, well, died." Sirius swallowed again - boy that word was hard to say. "I was at home, thinking about checking up on Peter. He had gone into hiding after the charm had been administered, or so I thought. When I heard on the radio about Death Eaters prowling around where Peter lived, I left to go check on him. When I arrived at his house, he was gone. That was when I knew. I knew right then that Peter had deceived us all. I jumped back on my bike and flew to your house. When I arrived," Sirius' voice broke slightly, "your house had been destoryed and... and your bodies were just lying there. I thought you were all dead until I heard Hagrid's voice. I still don't know how I missed him, but I didn't see him when I arrived. He was holding Harry." Sirius paused for a moment, letting all this information sink in. Lily had bit her lip and James wrapped an arm even more tightly around her waist.

"What happened to Voldemort?" James asked quietly. "He didn't die, he'd be here if he had."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, "No one knows how Harry defeated him. Many people thought he was dead, but there were those that knew he was still alive somewhere. I'm not even sure of all the details."

James and Lily glanced at each other anxiously.

Sirius continued his story, "When I saw Harry, I asked Hagrid to give him to me, 'Give Harry to me, Hagrid. I'm his godfather. I'll look after him,' I said. But he said, 'No Sirius, Harry's to go to his aunt and uncle. Dumbledore said-'"

"He went to Petunia?" Lily gasped.

Sirius nodded bitterly. "I couldn't convince Hagrid to give him to me, so I told him to take my bike. He'd get there much faster that way. When he left, I went to find Peter. It took a good part of the night and next day to find him, but when I did, I cornered him and was ready to kill him." Sirius' voice turned bitter. "Well, Peter isn't as stupid as we assumed. He started yelling about how I killed you both and when I raised my wand to kill him, the street behind him blew up. He had had his wand behind his back to make it look like I killed all those people. Then he cut off his finger and transformed to make it look as though I had killed him as well. Soon, wizards from the Ministry came and took me straight to Azkaban."

"You couldn't have gone straight to Azkaban," James interrupted suddenly. "You must have had a trial-"

"Old Barty didn't give me a trial, James." Sirius said quietly.

James froze, staring at him with horrified eyes.

"How long were you in Azkaban?" Lily asked quietly, her wide eyes betraying her stony face.

Knowing that he was winning James and Lily back, Sirius continued his tale.

"I spent twelve years there. Twelve years of pure hell. I don't know how I didn't lose my mind, other than knowing I was innocent. It was the only thing that kept me sane. That, and I could transform into a dog if it all became too much. One day, the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, came walking through Azkaban for a check-up on it. He had a paper and when he walked by my cell, I asked for it. I needed to know the date. It was July 1993. It was almost the end of the month, if I remember correctly. Harry was almost thirteen when I escaped."

"Escaped?" James gasped. "But - that's impossible!"

"Its supposed to be," Sirius said grimly. "On the front page there was an article about a family who had won a large sum of money. You remember Arthur Weasley? Well, he had won it and his family was featured on the front of the paper. He has seven children, six boys and one girl. On the shoulder of his youngest son was a rat. I knew immediately it was the traitor. After I saw the clipping of the paper, it just strengthened my resolve to search for Peter. So, one night, I went though the bars of my cell when the Dementors opened the door to deliver food. As a dog I swam to shore and began my journey north. I was weak, thin and exhausted, but I was alive. I was alive and sane and on the run. I traveled for a few weeks and ended up in a neighborhood where I saw Harry."

Before James or Lily could interrupt, he continued, knowing they were anxious for information about Harry.

"I had been looking for some scraps or something in a trash can, but then I saw a boy sitting on the side of the road with a trunk beside him. At first, I thought I was seeing you, James. He looks exactly like you. I was close enough to him where I could see his eyes. They were green - Your eyes, Lils. That was when I knew it was Harry and that was the last I saw of him before he summoned the Knight Bus. After traveling almost nonstop for a few weeks I ended up in Hogsmeade. Okay, maybe not the best place to hide out, but as I was a dog, I would just come for food when the owners of the shop would throw things away. I didn't just steal food, though. I stole the news paper, trying to get any information on the other side or Harry. Then, one night I snuck into the castle. I don't know what day it was, but it was some time in October. I think Harry told me later it was Halloween. Anyway, I wanted to find Peter, though I had no idea where he would be. Then I thought, 'Hey, if he is the rat of a Weasley, he has to be in Gryffindor, right?' So I headed towards Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady is still there, by the way. She asked me the password but, of course, I didn't have it. I told her she had to let me in, that some one in the tower is going to kill a student," -Sirius saw Lily grip James' arm tightly again- "but she didn't believe me. So, fed up, I lost my temper and took a knife to her canvas."

"You're a madman," Lily accused in a shaking voice.

Sirius shrugged. "Azkaban will do that to you."

"So what happened after that?" James asked.

"I don't know what happened to her, but I heard the other portraits screaming and I knew I had made a mistake, so I did the only thing I could: I ran. I fled the castle and hid in the forest for a while. In the forest, I met this cat. It was a Kneazel -Crookshanks was his name. He didn't trust me at first because he knew I wasn't a dog. After a while, I began to gain his trust and I told him about Peter. I asked him to help me, and help me he did. One night in the spring, he brought me a list of Passwords to get into Gryffindor Tower. So one night, I snuck in and found the third-year boy's dorm. I cut away the hangings on one of the boys' beds. It was Weasley's son; the boy who had Peter as a pet. Before I could do anything, he woke up and screamed. I had to run for it, or they'd have the Dementors after me."

Sirius leaned back in his seat, running his hand through his hair.

"Sirius?" James asked quietly, breaking the silence. "Why - I mean, you kept tailing Peter as best you could, but..."

"But what, James?" Lily asked sharply.

"Why did I keep risking it?" Sirius finished and James nodded. "I wanted revenge. I was falsely imprisoned for a murder I did not commit, nor had it ever been committed. I wanted to commit the murder I was imprisoned for, and killing Peter would feel as though things had been set right. I wanted to avenge your deaths, and I was desperate to do it. Anyway, I almost had my chance." Sirius' voice turned bitter. "In June came my chance. Harry and his friends were out at night with the rat, and so I grabbed the boy who owned Peter and dragged him into the Shack." An almost insane smile spread across his face. "I had him. I couldn't be more pleased. I could kill him right then. Yet, I waited for Harry to come. I wanted him to know who really killed his parents and that I was innocent. When he came he and his friends attacked me. Harry's a lot stronger than he looks, James."

While James smiled with pride, Lily said, "What on Earth was he thinking? Why didn't get a teacher?"

"He's a Gryffindor, Lily. He has the 'playing-the-hero' trait James had."

James groaned loudly. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm afraid not. But speaking of teachers, two did eventually show up. You'll never guess who, though."

"Who?"

Sirius grinned. "Moony."

James's mouth fell open. "_What_?"

"Well, that shouldn't be a surprise," Lily pointed out as James almost fell out of his seat, laughing.

"Who else was there?" Lily asked as James calmed down at last.

Sirius' fists clenched. "Snivvy."

"No, seriously Siri - Padfoot." James corrected himself quickly as a grin began to spread across Sirius' face.

"No pun intended, but I am dead serious." Despite the situation, Sirius couldn't wipe that damn smile off his face. "Snivvy teaches potions."

"That shouldn't be a surprise either." Lily told a dumb-struck James, who gaped at Sirius.

"Who in their bloody-begotten mind-?"

"Albus."

"Dumbledore?"

"What other Albus do we know?"

James ran a hand through his hair.

"Bloody hell," he muttered.

"So, what happened in the Shreiking Shack?" Lily asked, ignoring James' mutters about Snape.

"Well, long story short," Sirius chuckled slightly, "Moony saw us on the Map and came to see what the hell was going on. Good ol' Moony hasn't changed - I still say he should have been a Ravenclaw. He figured out that Peter and I switched almost at once. We tried to convince Harry and his friends that the rat was Peter, and then Snivvy showed up. He threatened us for a while and," Sirius grinned broadly, "Harry and his friends attacked him."

Lily gasped and James laughed in unison.

"Anyway, so after they knocked Snape out, Moony and I transformed Peter back into the vile human being he was. He kept saying he was innocent and that I had betrayed you and then he went to the kids, trying to make them believe him. His friends weren't certain about him -they were definitely disgusted- but Harry... You see, James, Moony and I were going to kill Peter. Both of us, together, to avenge you. Your son, however, had the heart of a lion. He blocked Peter from our wand tips and convinced us to take him to the castle. Outside was a full moon. Moony transformed and so did Peter, yet he got away. I don't really remember what happened that night because Moony bit me in the side or something -as a dog- and all of a sudden Dementors swarmed the area. Next thing I knew, I was in the castle, awaiting the Dementors to suck out my soul. Then, out of nowhere comes Harry and his friend, Hermione, on one of Hagrid's hippogriffs. They let me take Buckbeak and we flew to Scotland to hide."

James whistled. "That happened all in one night?"

Sirius nodded. "I'll never be able to tell you how, though."

James leaned back, frowning as he absorbed all of this new information. Lily eyed Sirius skeptically.

"You're telling the truth, Sirius?" she asked.

"I couldn't make this up, Lils," Sirius said, feeling a bit hurt that she was still suspicious of him.

"What happened after you escaped?"

Sirius looked up at James who was eying him as well, but in a very different way. Sirius remembered how James had a talent of seeing through lies. He was, after all, the one who had discovered Remus' condition in their second year.

"When Buckbeak and I were in Scotland, I posed as a stray dog in the city, scavengering for food or papers to keep updates on what was going on in the Wizarding World. During Harry's fourth year, there was some tournament... Oh yeah - the TriWizard Tournament was being held at Hogwarts that year."

"TriWizard?" James's brow furrowed. "But, what does that have to do with-?"

"I'm getting there James. Anyway, so there were three champions chosen; a boy from Durmstang, a girl from Beauxbatons and a boy from Hogwarts. Or I should say two boys from Hogwarts."

James shook his head. "There can't be four champions."

"The Goblet of Fire was hoodwinked, James," Sirius said, looking his friend in the eyes. "Harry was the fourth champion."

For, what felt to Sirius as he wasn't sure how time worked, the next hour or so, Sirius went into explaining as much as he knew about each of the three tasks. Lily had tears running down her cheeks as Sirius spoke of the events in the graveyard, Harry's return and discovering the imposter Moody. Finally, he lapsed into silence, watching the couple carefully.

"He... he came back...?" James croaked. "He used my son...?"

Sirius nodded gloomily. "He was still in full power when I... when I came here." He still couldn't stomach the fact that he was no longer alive. He lifted his face to his friends, who were now watching him closely. He took a deep breath and continued.

"Dumbledore sent me to find Remus and tell him what happened. I stayed with Rem for a while before Dumbledore met us at his cottage and told me that I had full control of Grimmuald Place, as I was the last remaining Black." Sirius's face became a sneer. "I was basically on house arrest at that hell-hole. My mother's Elf was still alive, attempting to clean the place and snogging my parents' things. Because I couldn't do anything else, I offered Number Twelve to Dumbledore for Headquarters."

"The Order's still around?" James' eyes became very hopeful.

Sirius nodded. "There are many new members now, along with the old. Shacklebot, Dung, Remus and I, the Weasleys, Dora -"

"Dora?" James interrupted yet again, his eyes wide. "She can't - she's a child."

Sirius laughed. "She's about twenty-four, James."

"Blimey," James muttered.

"The Weasleys stayed at Number Twelve that summer," Sirius continued, smiling. "Harry came near the end the summer and stayed until September First." As Sirius recounted the events of Harry's fifth year, something pulled at his heart; Grief, hate, anger, love and understanding. As he spoke to his two friends who had been dead for fourteen years, he suddenly realized he _was _here. He _was _seeing them.

He _was _dead.

Finally, Sirius' tale ended with his falling into blackness at Bellatrix's curse. A long silence stretched between the friends. James had taken off his glasses and was rubbing his eyes, while Lily had crossed her arms and stared hard at the window. Sirius, on the other hand, was staring at the floor. At last, James cleared his throat, making the other two look up.

"Thank you."

Sirius stared at James in shock. Lily had even glanced at James. James placed his glasses back onto his face and peered at Sirius from over the rims. "You found Harry, even though you were on the run and didn't give up to try to bring him to safety. You gave him advice when he needed it and told him what you could about us." James' voice was beginning to shake. "You were the father I couldn't be. You were the father he needed."

Sirius shook his head. "If I had been a father to him," he said bitterly, "I wouldn't have spent his whole life in Azkaban."

"You did what you could," James said quietly, in a gentle voice. "You did enough."

Sirius suddenly recognized the tone of James' voice and the comforting smile on his face. That was the same tone James had used in their first year to console Remus when they found out that he was a werewolf and would not be leaving him. Too touched to speak, Sirius nodded.

James leaned back, and suddenly his eyes widened. "Lily," he said suddenly. "I have an idea."

Lily looked up as James muttered something in her ear. Lily frowned and whispered back. Sirius' brow furrowed as he watched the two hiss at each other for a few minutes until Lily nodded, not looking pleased. James looked up at Sirius and said, "You're going to show me my son."

Sirius stared. "What-?"

"You and I are going to go to Earth." James stood and walked towards the front door.

"What-? Wait-! James!" Sirius jumped up and ran after him, casting a fleeting glance at an upset-looking Lily.

"James, wait!"

Sirius grabbed his shoulder as he caught up with him, but James did not cease. "James-"

James ignored him and led Sirius to the place Sirius had arrived.

"What are we doing?" He hissed, glancing anxiously around at all the new arrivals.

The lady that had yelled at James before sighed as she noticed the men approach. "Sir-"

"This is Sirius Black," James said firmly, clapping a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "He was my best friend in the other Realm. Let us through."

The woman rolled her eyes and pointed at a black hole behind her.

"Proceed," she said coldly.

James began forward, but Sirius held him back. "What's the other Realm?" he asked nervously.

James sighed and gave Sirius a significant look. "Earth," he said shortly, grabbing his friend by the arm and pulling him into the black abyss.

**Author's Note: **Sorry, this chapter really bugged me so I skipped some of Sirius' dialogue. I'm sure the ending of the chapter sucked, but it will get better I promise! Those who review get cookies and reviews on their stories!

Next Chapter: Earth


	3. Earth

**Author's Note: **_**IMPORTANT!!**_ I meant to do this in the last chapter, so this is for both chapters one and two.

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed or favorited me! -Tosses cookies to everybody-_

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Also, if you reviewed any of my other stories, I greatly appreciate it! (This goes for those who haven't reviewed this story, but I still see fit to thank them here because I can).

If I forgot anyone (or if I was an idiot and mistyped your name, I am such an idiot and please let me know so I can apologize profusely). Also, if I didn't review a story of yours, let me know so I can.

_I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to update!_ You won't believe how crazy it has been here. I've been busy with school, moving and family problems. For example: Physics is killing me (this is the main reason I haven't been updating). Can anyone please shoot the subject to death? I'd appreciate it so much. Urrgghh!! Now that I've dropped it, I should be updating more regularly…. Hopefully.

Again, I'm very sorry to all of you who were waiting for this chapter. As a present to all of you to tell you how sorry I am, I'll post the next chapter right after this one.

Another reason, I think, I have been having trouble updating is even though I had this written out prior to putting this on the computer, the intricate details are what's killing me.

By the way: There was a comment that was left on my review list about James and Lily not being able to see Harry. I originally did that for dramatic purposes (I'm not annoyed about that, by the way - your response made me think about why I had initially done that). So, in case anyone else is curious about that, that's the reason (not to mention I wrote this when I was thirteen, actually, and I was into the whole "dramatic" thing).

**Disclaimer:** Remus and Tonks never would have died in the seventh book if I owned it.

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Falling.

The sensation was all too familiar, Sirius realized with a sickening jolt. He couldn't see James, nor could he hear him. He tried to scream but it was as though his voice had vanished into the blackness.

"Ouch!"

Sirius groaned and rolled off of James, whom he had landed on top of.

"Gerroff."

James sat up, shoving Sirius' leg off of him.

"I thought we couldn't feel pain!" Sirius said grumpily from the floor as James stood slowly, his eyes narrowed on a mirror just above where the two had fallen.

"I suppose we can when we're in the other realm," James replied, running his hand over the mirror with slightly narrowed eyes. "Did we just-?"

"-fall out of the mirror?" Sirius stood beside James, meeting his gaze in the mirror's reflection. "I think so," he said, quietly.

James turned away from the mirror and gazed down a long, stone hallway. It was handsomely decorated with various portraits, statues and banners with a crest on them of a lion, eagle, badger and snake. Sirius heard James gasp softly.

"Are we...?" James breathed, his hazel eyes shining with disbelief.

"At Hogwarts?" Sirius finished with a broad smile. "Yes, James, I believe so."

As James opened his mouth to speak, there was a loud crash at the end of the corridor. As the two men turned, a young boy stormed down the hallway, his eyes blazing with anger. His shoulders were hunched in tension and his fists were clenched, one of which held a wand. Sirius heard James inhale sharply and he knew that he didn't have to tell James who the boy was.

"Harry," James whispered.

"Oi! Potter!" Harry's green eyes narrowed menacingly as he quickened his pace.

A boy appeared at the end of the corridor. He had silver blonde hair and a pointed face.

"Lucius Malfoy's...?" James glanced quizzically at Sirius, who nodded grimly.

"He looks exactly like the git, doesn't he?" Sirius asked softly.

"Potter!" Harry wheeled around, his wand pointed menacingly at Malfoy Jr.

"What the hell do you want, Malfoy?" Harry snapped.

Malfoy smirked, twirling his own wand between his fingers. "Only to speak with you, Potter," he said softly, still approaching Harry. "My mother told me who that man was," Malfoy continued, his grey eyes on Harry's green ones. "Black. He was your godfather, wasn't he? Aunt Bella killed him." He smirked as Harry visibly tensed. "He's dead." Malfoy repeated, his smirk growing. "Another person is out of the way for the Dark Lord-"

Malfoy was cut off abruptly from a curse sent his way by Harry. Malfoy quickly deflected it with a shield charm, sending it straight back at Harry, who merely stepped aside to avoid it. Harry's wand slashed through the air as a jet of white light shot out of the end of it and hit Malfoy squarely in the stomach. There was another flash of light and suddenly, Malfoy was thrown against the opposite wall, moaning as angry red boils appeared all over his body. Harry's eyes darkened as he pocketed his wand.

"Never," Harry said quietly, watching as some of the boils on Malfoy's face popped, oozing pus everywhere, "speak of him again. If I ever hear you mention his name again, I'll kill you."

Then, he turned his back to the Slytherin and stormed towards James and Sirius, his eyes glassy with rage.

"Harry-"

Sirius reached out to touch Harry's shoulder, but his hand went right through the boy. Sirius bit his lip as Harry walked on, never knowing that his father and godfather were there. Sirius glanced at James, who was staring after his son with an expressionless face. Sirius had only seen James wear that face twice before. The first had been when his parents had died and the second had been when Dumbledore told them about the prophecy.

"Prongs?" Sirius whispered, daring to use the old nickname.

James did not answer, but ran after Harry, Sirius at his heels.

"Harry!" James shouted desperately at his son's retreating back. "HARRY!"

"Harry!" Sirius joined James in trying in vain to get his godson's attention.

"He can't hear us," James sighed, once he had given up on yelling in his son's ear.

"He has to," Sirius muttered wildly, running a hand anxiously through his disheveled hair. "HARRY!"

At last, the two men gave up and agreed silently to just follow Harry, who seemed to just be walking off steam.

"He's a Gryffindor." Sirius heard James murmur as Harry stopped in a corridor and faced their direction, his eyes scanning the hallway.

Sirius smiled, seeing Harry's red and gold tie. "I told you, James," Sirius said, grinning at James' smiling face. "Harry is a Gryffindor; a true one."

James' smile faded suddenly. "A true Gryffindor wouldn't try to kill someone, Pads."

Sirius sighed. "He isn't like that all of the time, Prongs." Sirius stared sadly at his godson, who had sat on the ground, burying his face into his hands. "He has a pretty hot temper, like you did. Unlike you, however, he cannot control it. I guess he's doomed to that, having two hot-headed parents," he added at a feeble attempt for a joke.

James didn't smile.

"He isn't like this most of the time," Sirius tried again.

"He's acting like one of them," James said quietly.

"One of what?" Sirius glanced at James sharply.

"A snake."

Sirius' mouth fell open. "No he isn't!" Sirius growled. "Don't just assume that because this is all you've seen!"

James glared at him. "With the life he's had, I'm not surprised, _Sirius_."

Sirius bristled - James was referring to the Secret-Keeper switch. "The way he was raised isn't my fault."

"Is it?" James retorted.

He had touched a nerve. "Take that back," Sirius said quietly.

"No."

"TAKE IT BACK!"

"Who's there?" said a voice sharply.

James and Sirius looked up in alarm. Harry was staring at them -No, Sirius corrected himself bitterly, _through_ them.

James froze.

Sirius took a cautious step forward. "Harry?" he asked tensely.

Harry's eyes widened and he slowly stood. "Who's there?" he repeated, pulling out his wand.

A smile began to spread across Sirius' face.

"James," he breathed, excited, "he can hear us!"

An unreadable emotion crossed into Harry's eyes. "Sirius...?" he murmured, his knuckled whitening on his wand.

"Harry?"

The two men and Harry looked up. A girl with bushy brown hair approached him, a book tucked securely under her arm.

"Oh, its just you, Hermione," Harry sighed, relaxing visibly.

"Who's Hermione?" James muttered to Sirius, obviously forgetting what Sirius had told him about Harry's friends.

"Best friend," Sirius replied back in a strained whisper, ecstatic that Harry could at least hear them, "Or at least one of them. His other best friend is one of the Weasley boys, Ron."

"Are you alright, Harry? You look, well," she hesitated slightly, "tense."

Harry's eyes flashed in annoyance. "I wonder why," he muttered sarcastically, sticking his wand back into his pocket.

"Ron's waiting for us in the common room," Hermione said, looking rather nervous. It was obvious to James and Sirius that she had been on the receiving end of Harry's temper quite often. "He said the two of you were going to play chess this evening."

"Well, he's going to have to wait, isn't he?" Harry snapped, turning from her and beginning to walk away.

"Harry!" Hermione caught up with him, grabbing his arm. "Harry, why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" Harry demanded, wrenching his arm out of her grip and glaring at her.

Hermione sighed. "Listen Harry, you've, well, changed," she finished lamely.

"I haven't changed!"

"Yes you have! Ever since... Since June, Harry, you've changed! You've been getting angry with people for no reason and-"

"Well, if they'd stop playing tricks on me, maybe I wouldn't get so angry!"

"No one has been playing tricks on you, Harry!"

"Someone has! Just now!" Harry pointed in Sirius' and James' direction. "There was a voice! A voice that... that..." he broke off, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Like what, Harry?" Hermione prompted, gently.

Harry's eyes became very downcast. "Hermione, it was... _his_ voice."

Her eyes became very round and she bit her lip. "Are you sure, Harry?"

Harry nodded, looking very small. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw James make a sudden movement, which was stopped abruptly. He glanced at James and saw a hopelessness in James' face as he watched his son become almost fragile, his grief apparent.

"Harry," Hermione said quietly, breaking the silence, "I don't know if someone was playing a joke on you, but if it was his voice," she placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sadly, "I believe you."

Harry glanced at her. "You do?"

Hermione nodded.

"You didn't in Second Year when I heard the basilisk in the walls," Harry accused.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, well, you were right about that, weren't you?" She smiled up at him.

Their eyes met for a moment before Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess," he mumbled.

"Let's go meet Ron, then, okay, Harry?" She said carefully, stepping up beside him.

Harry followed her, glancing over his shoulder as he did so. Sirius and James followed the two, stunned about what they had just heard.

"How much time do we have here?" Sirius whispered to James as they followed Harry onto a moving staircase.

"As long as it takes to see everyone we want to see," James muttered back. "Who do we want to see? We've seen Harry."

"Moony," Sirius muttered back. "We have to see Moony."

James nodded in silent agreement as the staircase came to a stop and the ghosts followed Harry and Hermione onto the landing. There was a sudden noise of shrieking and heavy footfalls.

"What on earth-?" Hermione gasped, taking a step backward as the sounds came nearer and nearer. Before either teenager could speak, a tall, red-haired boy came into view, crashing right into Harry and Hermione.

"Ron!" Hermione gasped as the three friends disentangled themselves from each other. "Ron, what on earth-?"

"T-there was a spider following me!" Ron whimpered, sitting up and glancing behind him.

"How big was it?" Harry asked, sounding very annoyed.

"Er," Ron bit his lip in thought. "It was pretty big. As big as my big toe I think,"

"Ron," Hermione sighed as Harry helped her to her feet.

"I'm serious!" Ron said, gesturing with his hands. "It was huge! It was-" He froze suddenly, his wide eyes on some area behind Harry. "H-Harry..." Ron squeaked, pointing.

Harry turned. "What?"

James and Sirius looked too. They didn't see anything remotely frightening in the old corridor.

"On the floor..."

Harry's head tilted downward and he let out a sudden groan. "You have bloody got to be kidding me!" He whirled around to face Ron, looking angry. "You made a fuss over that?"

Ron shrugged, looking anxious.

Harry glared at him, then pointed his wand at the spider. "_Incendio_."

"Harry, don't!" Hermione cried, but it was too late. The spider burst into a small fireball then vanished into a burnt bit on the carpet.

"Try that next time," Harry snapped, stuffing his wand back into his pocket.

Ron smiled weakly. "Right."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You won't do it."

Ron frowned, looking slightly put out. "Yeah, I will Harry," he said shortly.

Harry gave a very short laugh. "No, you'll be the wimp you always are and run from it while Hermione and I kill it."

"No, I won't!" R on said angrily at the very same time Hermione gasped, "Harry!"

Harry shrugged, "Sure Ron," he said coolly, turning his back on them and beginning to walk away.

Ron glared after Harry, his face and ears as red as his hair. "What the hell is your problem, Harry?" Ron shouted after him.

"Ron, don't." Hermione grabbed his wrist as Ron reached for his wand. "Just leave him alone for now."

Ron turned to her, eyes flashing. "Sure, Hermione. Take _his_ side."

"I'm not taking anyone's side Ron! I'm just-"

"-defending him." Ron finished angrily. "You know, Hermione, he's been such an ass since, well..."

"I know, Ron," Hermione said in a firm, yet gentle voice. "Just leave him be. He's going through a lot right now..."

Ron snorted and turned on his heel, storming off in the other direction.

Hermione sighed, rubbing a hand over her face in exasperation. "Ron, wait!" she called in exasperation, running after him.

James and Sirius watched her go, both feeling helpless.

"Let's go find him," Sirius said quietly, glancing nervously at where Harry had vanished around the corner.

James shook his head, muttering, "That poor girl," before following Sirius down the corridor.

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Hello.

I just wanted to make one last comment before you press the pretty purple button below.

Writing this, I realized how out of character Harry is in this chapter (Ron as well, I guess). I must reiterate that I wrote this four years ago and therefore thought that Harry would be very pissed off when Sirius died and would be much angrier than usual as he deals with his grief. It still bothers me a bit that he didn't seem all that upset in the sixth book, even though thinking of Sirius still hurt him. Maybe it's just me. Don't forget, this is an AU, and from what's been told of Harry, he's a bit mean when dealing with things (ie- Cedric's death, people suspecting him of things at Hogwarts, ect), so because he's dealing with Malfoy and now, Sirius' voice, I think making him rather mean is necessary.

Also, if I went too fast, please let me know.

There is a fire where I live and I don't have school tomorrow, so I might have the next chapter up by Wednesday. We'll see.


	4. A Tight Spot

**Author's Note:** Hello, I am still alive. I am so, so sorry I haven't updated since November. If any of you are high school seniors, I think you will empathize with me with how much work is assigned during senior year - especially in AP classes. Not to mention all of the writer's block I've had lately. I think I will do one more chapter after this since I don't have many papers left to copy this from (the hardest part for me is all of the details - you don't believe how much stuff I've added -_sigh_-). I wanted to update before Christmas, but we can all see how that worked out... my new year's resolution:_ Don't put off updating for more than a week!_

Yes, I know last chapter was -as Speedy G put it- overkill with Harry. This chapter will be much, much better, I promise.

There will be one more chapter after this one.

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or added me to their alerts!**

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The two ghosts were silent as they walked, following the invisible force that seemed to lead them to Harry. Sirius' heart was heavy; he felt terrible about Harry's attitude, even though he knew that it was not his fault.

"Padfoot? Are you okay?"

Sirius glanced up at James, who looked concerned, yet as weary as Sirius felt about all of this.

Sirius hesitated. Once upon a time, he would never have unwillingly told James anything. But times were different between them, and Sirius had become careful with his words over the years.

"I never wanted you to see him like this," Sirius began slowly. "I mean, I know he wouldn't be chipper any other way, but I wanted you to see the Harry I know - _knew_." he corrected himself firmly, though it hurt to use past tense.

"It's just," James said softly, "I never thought it'd be like this. I spent fifteen earth years being angry with you, but I tried to push it aside because Lily and I thought Harry was living with you. We even thought that Moony would come around and be the uncle who spoiled him as much as his godfather." James shoved his hands angrily into his pockets. "Where did it all go wrong?"

"Listen James," Sirius said, very seriously, "Harry is strong. I know he might not seem like it right now because of what you've seen, but he's strong; much stronger than you or I ever have been in our Auror days. He's learned so much on his own - Moony and I have only helped him so much. I know he's had help from Dumbledore and his friends, but from what I've been told from Moony and Dumbledore, he's pretty much been on his own. He has a good head on his shoulders, even if he is a bit reckless at times. He's a good kid, James, I promise."

James ran a hand through his hair, silent. Sirius, however, wanted to keep talking but James didn't seem ready to talk. Truth be told, he should be angry. After all, because of _him_, Harry was upset and took his grief out on his friends. Because of Sirius, Harry acted like a time-bomb.

He was angry, confused and saddened by what he had seen. Sirius groaned loudly and tried to slam his fist against the wall, but fell through it instead. He yelped in surprise and landed flat on his face, his upper and lower half separated by the stone wall.

"Padfoot?" came James' muffled voice.

Sirius sighed and propped himself as James stepped through the wall, looking bewildered. Or at least Sirius _thought_ it was bewilderment. As he registered the look on James' face, he realized that James was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, shut up," Sirius snapped, trying to pull himself out of the wall. His lower half didn't move.

"Would you stuff it?" Sirius growled, hearing James burst into laughter.

He pulled his body, groaning with the effort. It didn't hurt, of course, but it was annoying to be stuck in a single spot, especially since he was a ghost and was supposed to be able to float _through_ walls, not get stuck in them. Not to mention, his predicament was quite uncomfortable.

Footsteps came into the corridor and Sirius, having kept pulling himself in vain, was suddenly propelled on his stomach across the floor. As he came to a stop near the opposite wall, he twisted around in a panic, making sure he had not left his legs on the other side of the wall. He sighed in relief upon seeing his legs still attached to his ghostly body.

"Stuff it, Prongs!" Sirius called grumpily over his shoulder, hearing James trying to stifle his laughter.

As Sirius sat up, James' laughter died at once and Sirius suddenly knew who's footsteps they had heard moments ago.

Harry had come to a stop, breathing heavily as he leaned against the wall, running his hand over his face.

"Damnit," Harry muttered, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

James and Sirius were silent, staring at him anxiously. As Sirius slowly got to his feet, James stepped forward.

"Harry?" He said, hesitantly.

Harry looked up and stared right through James. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he looked down the corridor.

"Hello?" he said, placing his glasses back onto his face.

James and Sirius watched in silence as Harry's face fell into an almost desperate look.

"Look, I don't know who is there," Harry began, speaking to the silence and drawing his wand, "but this isn't funny. Ron, if you're under the Cloak, I'm sorry I was short earlier. I just..." He ran a hand through his black hair. "Just come out, okay?"

"He has the cloak?" James asked in surprise, making both Sirius and Harry jump.

"Yeah," Sirius mumbled, watching Harry very closely. "He has it."

"Is this a joke?" Harry snapped suddenly, pointing his wand about six inches away from James' shoulder.

James bit his lip and glanced at Sirius. Sirius' eyes met his momentarily and he looked back at Harry.

"No Harry," Sirius said as calmly as he could. "This isn't a joke. It's... it's me."

Harry's eyes widened suddenly and he gasped, taking a step backward. "Oh my God..."

The wand slipped from Harry's fingers and fell with a clatter to the floor. Harry's eyes darted around the seemingly empty corridor, before landing on a spot some three feet from the ghosts.

"Sirius?" Harry called breathlessly.

A smile spread across Sirius' face. Before he could say or do anything, Harry snatched up his wand and began backing away, looking quite scared. Sirius' smile dropped suddenly.

"Harry -"

"You - you can't be!" Harry shook his head, looking panicked. "Nearly Headless Nick said ghosts can't come back once they've crossed over. You're lying!" A fire was burning in Harry's eyes now and he looked close to tears.

"No, Harry -" Sirius tried again, now sounding almost panicked himself.

A jet of smoke suddenly erupted from Harry's wand, obscuring their vision.

"HARRY!" James bellowed as the figure of his son took off running.

Acting on impulse, James followed Harry with Sirius at his heels. As the rounded the corner, they saw Harry collide with an older man, sending them both to the ground.

"Who's that?" James whispered to Sirius as they approached the two living beings.

Sirius' eyes widened as he watched Harry help the man up, apologizing profusely. A grin spread across his face suddenly.

"I'll give you three guesses," he said.

Frowning, James turned back to the man. Something was so familiar about that face, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Suddenly it hit him like a bludger.

"Is that...?" James gasped.

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I know, I know. A long wait gave you a short chapter and a cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist! Who do you think the mystery man is?

The next chapter will the the last and it will be longer, I promise. Thank you all who stuck with me, and again, I am so sorry that I took so long to update.

I have three free periods for the next week, so if you review, I'll most likely have the next chapter up soon along with another chapter of _Seven Lives, One Fate._ I know my promises probably don't mean much, but I'll have free time to work on it for once, so you want to encourage me to write, yes:)

By the way: HAPPY NEW YEAR! For all of those graduating this year, just think: Six more months until college! Whoo hooo!


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